Vines Art Festival hosts Multitides—a site-collaborative tidal walk at Spanish Banks, August 15 to 18

The self-guided stroll at Spanish Banks’ tidal flats comes with an eight-page zine

Vines Art Festival presents Multitides—a site collaborative tidal walk on August 15 from 8:50 am to 10:50 am; August 16 from 9:40 am to 11:40 am; August 17 from 10:40 am to 12:40 pm; and August 18 from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm

THE TIDAL FLATS of Spanish Banks are the stage for a Vines Art Festival offering called Multitides—a site collaborative tidal walk taking place from August 15 to 18.

Created by Paula Viitanen in collaboration with mechatronics engineer Juan Aldazosa, visual artist Liz Wurzinger, and composer Elliot Vaughan, the self-guided stroll takes place at low tide each day, beginning at a site-responsive installation where participants receive a guidebook leading them into the intertidal zone.

The installation will be in place just outside of the Spanish Banks West concession; measuring approximately eight feet by eight feet, it is designed as a “site-responsive portal or doorway”, Viitanen tells Stir.

“Participants are invited to step through it at the beginning of their tidal walk,” says Viitanen, who has a degree in industrial joinery and a BFA in theatre: production and design. “Our exploration focuses on how a frame or portal might alter one’s awareness and presence in a location. The installation features site-responsive elements, including kinetic parts that react to local weather conditions such as wind and rain and the rising tidal waters.”

Audiences will also be given a guidebook in the form of an eight-page zine. “When unfolded, it reveals a poster-sized map of the tidal flats, showcasing observations and prompts related to the natural features of the area,” Viitanen says. “This guide encourages exploration of the site’s existing dynamics.”

In the booklet, there will be a QR code to a site-specific composition by Vaughan. “The sound will be generated real time based on an algorithm Vaughan created using six different earth and moon cycles turned into oscillators,” Viitanen says.

Vines Art Festival continues to August 17.

Featured

Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

Articles

Artisan eggnogs to gingerbread old fashioneds, where to find festive spirits on Vancouver's cocktail scene

At bars from Botanist to Meo, mixologists riff on Christmas pudding, mulled wine, grandma’s baking, and much more

At Christmas With Chor Leoni, Saina Khaledi premieres Persian song inspired by her father's melodies

Composer-musician draws on years of memories in new piece for santour and choir that celebrates Yalda Night

B3 Kings keyboardist Chris Gestrin draws on a long history of holiday music for jazz arrangements

Quartet roasts some chestnuts—and some more adventurous tunes, too—at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts

Corbin Murdoch steps in as Vancouver Folk Music Festival executive director

The musician, cultural programmer, and producer is set to work alongside artistic director Fiona Black

The Nutcracker at Wethersfield follows New York City Ballet to a wintry estate, to December 28 at VIFF Centre

The Leading Ladies bring to life Duke Ellington’s swingy twist on Tchaikovsky score at December 14 screening

Goh Ballet fosters young talent and holiday cheer with 15th edition of The Nutcracker

Amid tulle tutus and fleecey lambs, director Chan Hon Goh reflects on the history of the “feel-good production”

Gateway Theatre's Annie brings back classic songs and a sense of optimism, to January 3

And did we mention the live dogs playing Sandy?

International Guitar Night 2026 tours to Massey Theatre, February 1

All-Canadian lineup features Itamar Erez, Jocelyn Gould, Jamie Dupuis, and Caroline Planté

Vancouver Cantata Singers bridge generations with Christmas Reprise concerts

Up-and-coming composer Sophia Colpitts contributed to the program—with a little help from her grandpa

Just-released publication Enemy Alien covers Tamio Wakayama's remarkable photographic career

Edited by Paul Wong, Figure 1 Publishing release draws on the Japanese Canadian artist’s unpublished memoir, Soul on Rice

At The Cinematheque, David Lynch retrospective In Dreams delves into Hollywood’s dark side

Legendary director’s groundbreaking movies and TV work create a visual language that reflects on some of film history’s most sinister figures—and mushroom clouds

Krystle Dos Santos brings her soulful vocals back to the Firehall in A Very Merry Motown, December 17 to 28

Artist and her band are amping up the storytelling in “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” with hits from the legendary Detroit label

DanceHouse and The Cultch present the North American premiere of Recirquel’s Paradisum, January 21 to 24

Hungarian dance-circus company invites audiences to witness a visceral, mesmerizing spectacle set in the aftermath of a destroyed world

Music for the Winter Solstice brings serene sounds to atmospheric Heritage Hall, December 10 and 11

Music on Main’s annual holiday offering features performances from Grammy Award–winning Caroline Shaw, returning favourite Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, and more

Marika Swan ƛ̓upinup meditates on balance and transformation in A Circle Strong Enough to Carry Both Sides

The artist’s solo exhibition of prints at the Burnaby Art Gallery looks back on years immersed in the creative and philosophical view of interdependence in Nuu-chah-nulth culture

Theatre review: At the Arts Club, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women celebrates complex bonds of sisterhood

Portrayals of the classic novel’s famously lively siblings shine brightest when all four are together onstage, capturing love for one another in quiet gestures

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker inhabits a snow-dusted Canada, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, December 12 to 14

Pond hockey, RCMP battles, and polar bears bring this unique rendition home—with classic Russian touches, of course

With fresh adaptation (a) Winter’s Tale, two well-known theatre talents launch The Ecstasy

Colleen Wheeler and Moya O’Connell have gathered a crack team of actors for micro-sized Shakespearean shows at the City Centre Artist Lodge—and this is only the beginning

Arts Umbrella’s dancers rise to the challenge of learning every part in Mixed Nuts

Company’s annual holiday twist on The Nutcracker features a flavoursome assortment of styles, from classical ballet to hip hop to ’60s swing

Early Music Vancouver aims to make Handel’s beloved Messiah feel both fresh and familiar

Pacific Baroque Orchestra conductor Alexander Weimann says the German-English composer’s oratorio is never the same piece twice

Edge Effects bridges realms at SFU Burnaby's new Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum

Recently opened gallery’s first exhibition features works by 15 artists, including Germaine Koh, Liz Magor, Cindy Mochizuki, and Jin-me Yoon

High teas put a delicious spin on classic flavours for the holiday season

Here’s our guide to six local establishments with savoury and sweet menus filled with festive spirit

Newly published book A Monumental Practice surveys the work of Haida artist 7IDANsuu James Hart

Written with Curtis Collins, the Figure 1 Publishing release takes a detailed look at Hart’s large-scale works, including poles, cedar sculptures, and bronzes

VSO’s The Four Seasons travels gradually into “icy snow”, December 11 and 12 at the Chan Centre

Orchestra’s associate concertmaster Timothy Steeves takes a starring role in the festive violin concertos

Comedy review: Improv Centre’s agile cast conjures ’90s holiday TV specials in ’Tis the Sitcom

With audiences supplying the laugh track, the days of “Must-See TV” return in a different form every night, with heartfelt moments arising among hilarious period-correct details

Fountains and Chapel Sound highlight sonic experimentation at Fountains: Series III, December 4 and 6

Annual program co-presented with Fountains Symposium highlights the work of East and Southeast Asian women, femme, and nonbinary artists

Dance review: In Birdy, Hung Dance makes endless, artful play with feathered headpieces of Chinese opera

Dreamlike Taiwanese show explores freedom and oppression, with Ling Zi becoming everything from spiky weapons to shivering life forces all their own

Four double bassists join forces for BASS-MAS!, an evening of festive tunes, December 3

Malcolm Armstrong, Mark Beaty, Meaghan Williams, and Jeff White are gearing up to play four new commissions at the Jericho Arts Centre

John Reischman and the Jaybirds’ musical roots thrive on strong sense of West Coast place

With new album The Salish Sea and a “bluegrass concerto” of the same name, the renowned mandolinist and his cohort of virtuoso musicians summon wild elements of the natural world

Film reviews: Mile End Kicks to Influencers, quick takes from Whistler Film Festival

Chandler Levack’s love letter to Montreal and her early 20s offers a new kind of female heroine; Kurtis David Harder unveils a super-energetic sequel; and Wədzįh Nəne’ (Caribou Country) takes viewers to B.C.’s snow-dusted northern reaches